INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION
RADIOCOMMUNICATION
ADVISORY GROUP
Document RAG2001-1/34-E
6 March 2001
English only
GENEVA, 12 - 16 MARCH 2001
United Kingdom
IMPROVED ORGANIZATION OF CPM-2 FOR WRC-03
1
Introduction
In accordance with the provisions of Resolution ITU-R 2, the Conference Preparatory Meeting
provides an opportunity for different approaches of WRC agenda items to be reconciled. It also
provides an opportunity for technical and regulatory issues to be explained and understood,
especially by those administrations unable to follow the multitude of preparatory meetings of the
Study Groups, Working Parties and Rapporteurs Groups, etc. The United Kingdom places great
importance on this latter aspect, which was emphasized by RA-2000.
The United Kingdom has followed the discussions in the RAG Correspondence Group reviewing
the WRC and CPM process, and can understand the concern that the one-week duration agreed by
Council-2000 for CPM-2 could be insufficient time to address both these aspects during CPM-2.
The following proposals are therefore made to ensure that both these aspects of CPM can be
adequately addressed within one week.
2
Summary of proposals
•
Greater emphasis on the use of Regional Meetings and Regional Telecommunication
Organizations in accordance with Resolution 72 (Rev.WRC-2000).
Early identification of difficult issues where investment of time is required for
reconciliation.
More consideration should be given to advance agreement on the organization and structure
of CPM-2.
Strict discipline in the timing of submission of documents and in the conduct of debates in
the meeting.
•
•
•
3
Objectives of CPM-2
The objectives of the CPM, as contained in Resolution ITU-R 2-3, are identified here in a
summarized form:
•
prepare a consolidated report to be used in support of the work of the forthcoming WRC;
•
reconcile differences in approach as contained in the source material to the extent possible;
•
where reconciliation cannot be achieved, include the differing views and their justification;
•
make overview presentations of the chapters to facilitate the understanding by all
participants;
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•
review progress on preparatory studies for agenda items to be considered at the subsequent
WRC.
The following proposals for organizing CPM-2 are based on the premise that these objectives
should not be compromised or lost in any way as a result of limiting the duration of the meeting to
one week.
4
Preparation of the CPM Report

Consolidation: the preparatory groups must accept their increased responsibility to provide
"near ready" consolidated text to CPM-2. In any case, for many issues, there will be little
time at CPM-2 to do much more than final polishing of the text.

Reconciliation: the preparatory groups should try to reconcile the different approaches and
opinions to reduce the number of credible options. However, sustained minority views
should not be suppressed in text sent to CPM because it will take more time to deal with the
issue if it is re-opened at CPM.

Presentation of different approaches: as required by ITU-R Resolution 2, it will be far more
effective for preparatory groups to agree how to present the different approaches in their
draft text to CPM, but a sensible balance needs to be struck to avoid this becoming an easy
option to reconciliation.

Identification of issues for additional reconciliation prior to WRC: as the work in the
preparatory groups progresses and the results of regional and interregional consultation
emerge, it will be possible to identify those issues for which an easy consensus will be
found at CPM (and WRC) and those issues which will require investment of negotiation
time to achieve a compromise. To ensure worldwide awareness of the developing situation,
the BR should consider some form of regular newsletter, preferably electronic, which
presents a factual digest of the developments in the preparatory groups. The regional
telecommunications organizations should be invited to provide a brief on their activities
and progress to be included in the newsletter.

Progress on preparatory studies for the next WRC: development of the agenda for the next
conference is usually a contentious issue that probably does not get the attention it deserves
to avoid unrealistically long agendas. However, with respect to the CPM preparations, all
that is required is a factual account of the progress in the Study Groups and an assessment
of whether there will be sufficient study material available for the agenda item to be
included in the next conference.
5
Overview presentations by the CPM management team
This new responsibility for CPM is recognized as particularly important to assist administrations
that have been unable to participate in the preparatory work for the WRC to understand the
implications of the various options and different approaches that may be available for specific
agenda items. Resolution ITU-R 2 takes into account the resource limitations of small
administrations by stipulating that these presentations will be made as part of the regularly
scheduled sessions and, to be effective, they must at the early stages of the meeting before any
major debates have taken place. With the reduced duration of the meeting, less time should be spent
on editing text in the Plenary meetings, and more time must be set aside for presentations
concentrating on the controversial issues or issues where there is not a reconciliation of views.
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6
Organization of the meeting
Advance planning
Advance planning for the meeting will be an essential requirement to ensure the objectives can be
met in the time available. The current procedures in ITU-R Resolution 2 require the CPM Chairman
to convene a meeting of the Vice-Chairmen and Chapter Rapporteurs (the management team) to
prepare the draft report. It is proposed that the Chairman convenes a second meeting of the
management team two weeks in advance of CPM-2. At these two meetings the management team
should consider the following additional issues and make proposals.
Structure
CPM99-2 established eight Working Groups (WGs) and around 21 Sub-Working Groups (SWGs).
It will be extremely difficult to schedule such a heavy WG and SWG structure in one week. Also,
while SWGs can help resolve some of the detailed issues, inevitably this results in parallel meetings
which cause considerable problems for smaller delegations. In turn, this results in issues being
re-opened at higher level committees. From the inputs to the first meeting, the management team
should be able to identify the critical issues which require further debate and those for which
consensus already seems likely. A provisional working WG structure based on the difficult issues
identified could be an additional output of this meeting.
Appointment of WG Chairmen
In the same way, the management team should nominate Chairmen for the provisional WGs.
Preferably and logically these should be drawn from the pool of Chapter Rapporteurs.
Documentation
CPM99-2 considered some 205 documents, 156 of these were input documents, and the rest were
output documents. Of the input documents, over 140 were marked as "Delayed Contributions", that
is they did not meet the 3-month deadline for submitting documents given in ITU-R Resolution 1
(§ 8.6). In fact many documents only just met the 7-day deadline given in ITU-R Resolution 1
(§ 8.9). As well as placing a heavy burden on the secretariat, this causes difficulty to other
delegation in their preparations. It is therefore proposed that the deadline for document submission
should be set at two weeks before CPM. This would enable the second meeting of the management
team to review the input documents and attribution and the provisional CPM structure and prepare a
final proposal for posting on the web one week before the meeting. Delegations would therefore be
fully aware of where particular documents and issue are to be dealt with and ready to begin work on
the first day.
Timing of meetings of the preparatory groups
The difficulty of arranging and scheduling meetings is recognized. However, to the extent possible,
ITU preparatory groups should schedule their meetings so that if new material is intended to be
submitted to CPM-2, it should be available at least four weeks before the meeting so that
delegations are given sufficient time to consider and respond to the results of these studies and the
CPM management team may take them into account in the pre-CPM organizational work. It should
be noted that ITU-R Resolution 1-3 provision § 8.8 specifies that such contributions should be
submitted two months before the meeting.
Conduct of debates
To ensure the most effective use of time and to ensure the protection of the rights of all delegations
to express their opinions freely and fully on the points at issue, the CPM Chairman and Working
Group Chairmen should enforce strictly the Rules of Procedure. In particular, attention is drawn to
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RP § 12.7 (Motion for closure of debate), RP § 12.8 (Limitation of speeches) and RP § 12.9
(Closing the list of speakers). With good will and support of the Chairman's decision by delegates,
the sensible application of these provisions should help to avoid unnecessarily lengthy debates and
time wasting interventions. Detailed editorial corrections should be submitted directly to the
secretariat, to avoid wasting time in Working Groups and Plenary.
7
The use of regional preparations
The considerable benefits and effectiveness of regional preparations for ITU conferences has been
recognized in several ITU Resolutions, for example Resolution 80 (PP-98), Resolution ITU-R 48,
Resolution ITU-R 7 and especially Resolution 72 (Rev.WRC-2000) (Regional preparations for
world radiocommunication conferences).
It is worth repeating here the request in Resolution ITU-R 7 to the Director of BR to consult with
regional telecommunication organizations on the means to assist WRC preparations in the following
areas:
a)
organization of regional preparatory meetings;
b)
organization of information sessions, preferably before and after the second session of the
Conference Preparatory Meeting;
c)
development of coordination methods;
d)
identification of major issues to be resolved by the future world radiocommunication
conference;
e)
facilitation of regional and interregional informal and formal meetings, with the objective
of reaching a convergence of interregional views on major issues.
Assistance with e) is essential, to assist in achieving the objective of working towards prior
consensus on the major issues. This is often easier to achieve at an early stage in the process before
regional positions become entrenched and difficult to change. In some cases, CPM-2 has been too
late, so early interregional meetings may prove more effective.
______________
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